Visitors from Japan enjoy reasonably high levels of satisfaction
with their New Zealand holidays in New Zealand, with a satisfaction
rating of 8.8 out of 10. Most are likely to recommend New
Zealand.
Introduction
Each year Tourism New Zealand commissions independent research
to gain a sense of how satisfied our international visitors are
with the holiday experience New Zealand provides.
Making sure that international visitors have an enjoyable
experience is the key to the future of the tourism industry.
Visitors that have the experience of a lifetime while on holiday in
New Zealand are more likely to recommend the destination to other
people or return for a second visit themselves.
Conducted annually, the Visitor Experience Monitor
provides a benchmark for the New Zealand tourism industry from
which to improve the experiences it offers visitors.
Overall experience
During 2008/09 visitors from Japan enjoyed reasonably high
levels of satisfaction with their holiday in New Zealand. Overall,
they rated their holiday experience 8.8 out of 10, which is
consistent with previous years. Most Japanese visitors (91 per
cent) said they were likely to recommend New Zealand as a holiday
destination.
Visitors from Japan said they were more likely to speak or write
positively about New Zealand when speaking to others in person (95
per cent); when sending emails, instant messages or letters to
individuals (49 per cent); or sharing their opinions in online
forums such as blogs, discussions or social networking websites (8
per cent).
Accommodation
Among the seven areas mentioned above, accommodation had one of
the lowest overall satisfaction ratings among visitors from Japan.
With a rating of 7.9 out of 10, the Japanese rated accommodation
lower than the average satisfaction rating across all markets (8.4
out of 10).
With regard to accommodation, visitors from Japan rated price a
low 7.5 out of 10, quality of facilities and amenities 7.8 and
quality of service 7.7.
Food and beverage
Food and beverage was the area with the lowest satisfaction for
visitors from Japan. The overall satisfaction score for food and
beverage was 7.7 out of 10. This score was lower than satisfaction
with food and beverage across all markets (8.1 out of 10).
Within the area of food and beverage, visitors rated quality of
food and beverage 7.8 out of 10 and quality of service 7.7.
Satisfaction with price was the lowest rating aspect of food and
beverage at 7.5 out of 10.
Transport
Overall, Japanese visitors rated their satisfaction with
transport in New Zealand as 7.9 out of 10, lower than the average
across all markets (8.4).
Satisfaction with price (rated 7.2 out of 10) was lower than
other aspects of transport, including comfort, safety and
reliability (7.7) and quality of service (7.7).
The Japanese commonly travel New Zealand on coach tours, but
their satisfaction with this mode of transport is lower than other
markets (8.0 compared to 8.5).
Activities
Overall, Japanese visitors rate their satisfaction with
activities at 8.6 out of 10. This is quite high but lower than the
average across all markets (8.9).
Visitors from Japan had consistently lower satisfaction across
all aspects of activities in New Zealand, compared with other
markets. They rated quality of the actual activity 8.2 out of 10
and quality of service 7.8 out of 10. Once again, satisfaction with
price was rated lowest at 7.5 out of 10.
These consistently lower levels of satisfaction suggest that
improvement is needed in all aspects of activities in order to
increase the satisfaction of Japanese visitors. Setting realistic
expectations of what the activity entails, the levels of service
visitors will receive and the price may help to improve overall
satisfaction levels.
The New Zealand environment
New Zealand's environment is the most satisfying aspect of a New
Zealand holiday for Japanese visitors. The overall satisfaction
score of 9.0 out of 10 was higher than the score across all other
markets (8.9).
Visitors from Japan are highly satisfied with New Zealand's
natural landscapes and scenery (rated 9.4 out of 10), our clean and
unpolluted environment (8.9) and uncrowded spaces (8.8).
Satisfaction with the weather rated lower at 7.0 out of 10, along
with our vibrant urban atmosphere, rated at 7.2.
Safety
Japanese visitors rated their personal safety in New Zealand at
8.4 out of 10, which is reasonably high but lower than the average
across all markets of 8.7.
Compared to all markets, Japanese visitors are less satisfied
with road safety (7.8 out of 10), personal safety in urban areas
(8.0) and safety standards of activities (8.2).
Holiday planning
The majority of visitors from Japan (69 per cent) decided what
they would do on their holiday after they had made the decision to
come to New Zealand. Conversely, nearly a third (31 per cent) of
visitors from Japan decided the type of holiday they wanted, and
then chose New Zealand as their destination.
The factors that had the most influence on Japanese visitors'
decisions to come to New Zealand were the natural scenery (31 per
cent) or having friends or family here (20 per cent).
Most visitors from Japan booked their trip to New Zealand less
than three months in advance of arriving here. Thirty per cent
booked between one and two months before arrival, 20 per cent
booked between two and three months before arrival and 17 per cent
booked two to four weeks before arrival.